His comrades, who before
Had heard his voice in ev’ry blast,
Could catch the sound no more.
For then, by toil subdued, he drank
The stifling wave, and then he sank.’”
His voice, while calm, drew subtle attention to “catch the sound no more,“ the faintest emphasis lending a quiet reverence to the words. He paused just slightly before continuing, his gaze focused on the text as though it held some profound truth:
“‘No poet wept him: but the page
Of narrative sincere;
That tells his name, his worth, his age,
Is wet with Anson’s tear.
And tears by bards or heroes shed
Alike immortalize the dead.’”
There was no excess in his delivery, no exaggerated emphasis—only a thoughtful cadence, as though he were savoring the words for their own sake. His voice dipped slightly on ‘tears,’ giving it a weight that lingered in the air. Elizabeth’s smile, which had begun as all amusement, was now fading into something more contemplative.
“‘I therefore purpose not, or dream,
Descanting on his fate,
To give the melancholy theme
A more enduring date:
But misery still delights to trace
Its semblance in another’s case.’”
Here, his voice softened almost imperceptibly, the rhythm becoming more fluid, as though mimicking the gentle movement of the heavens themselves. His pauses were deliberate, his inflections subtle, creating a quiet intensity that made the poem seem less recited and more felt.
Elizabeth’s teasing expression was long gone. She watched him closely, her steps slowing. When he reached the final lines, his voice grew quieter still, carrying a strange, unexpected warmth:
“‘No voice divine the storm allay’d,
No light propitious shone;
When, snatch’d from all effectual aid,
We perish’d, each alone:
But I beneath a rougher sea,
And whelm’d in deeper gulfs than he.’”
When he finished, Darcy closed the book, his eyes meeting hers for a beat longer than was proper. “Satisfied, Miss Bennet?”
Elizabeth blinked, seeming to shake off some sort of sheen over her eyes. “Well,” she said, “That was… tolerable.”
Darcy raised a brow, the barest hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “Tolerable?”
